Week 3 Flashcards
What is a placenta? What does the placenta consist of?
Site of contact between embryonic and maternal tissues to allow exchange of material between the two.
Maternal endometrium, extra-embryonic fetal membranes: allantois, chorion, amnion, (yolk sac is a transient placenta in early species)
What is the conceptus?

What has to happen after fertilization of the ovum?
* development within zona pellucida
* hatching of the blastocyst from the zona pellucida
* maternal recognition of pregnancy
* formation of extraembryonic membranes

What is the clinical significance of the chorioamniotic raphe/ mesamnion in a cow? What is different in a horse?
If a cow gives birth, the cervix will open, chorionallantois will rupture, amnion also has to rupture since it is attached tot he chorionallantois. What lubricates the calf? Amniotic fluid (not as watery as in a horse)
* in horses- one big allantois sac, foetus floating around in the amnion. Amnion is not attached. So in horses, you will see the water break- this is when the chorion is breaking. You will see the amnion first which is around the foal (whitish, bluish)… danger the foal has that calf doesn’t have– if the amnion doesn’t rupture, suffocation can occur, this doesn’t really happen to calves because of the chorionamniotic raphe (membrane facilitates birth, vs. amnionic fluid)

What is meant by blastulation?



What marks the end of dioestrus? What has to happen to prevent luteolysis during pregnancy?
Marked by the regression of the CL. Maternal recognition of pregnancy
What is the placenta made up of?
Maternal uterine tissue + fetal extraembryonic membranes
What are the placental functions?
* In all species: exchange of gas and nutrients between dam and fetus, fetal waste removal
* vital endocrine organ
* in some species itis the sole source for pregnancy maintaining progestagens in late gestation
What happens if you get luteolysis during pregnancy?
Abortion
What do all domestic mammals have in terms of placentas?
Chorioallantoic placenta (usually fused)
What are the barriers separating maternal from fetal circulations?
Epitheliochorial- horses, cows and pigs (ruminants are often now classified as synepithelial chorial)
Endotheliochorial- dogs and cats
Hemochorial- primates and rodents

What is the barrier separating maternal circulation from fetal circulation in ruminants?
Areas where the maternal epithelium is altered- binucleate and trinucleate

What needs to be bigger, the more layers exist between the maternal and fetal circulation?
Bigger surface area
(epitheliochorial (most surface area)–> synepitheliochorial–> endothelialchorial–> haematochorial)

What are the 3 possible configurations of chorionic attachment?

Deciduate vs. non-deciduate
What about ruminants?
How much maternal tissue is lost with it, what stays behind?
** ruminants the “black sheep”- partial deciduate (some say non-deciduate)

How long after parturition can you breed a horse? How long for a dog?
10 days (horse)
2 months (dog)
**what is needed to get the endometrium normal again, related to how much damaged occurred
Placentation- Ruminant
clear bubble around embryo- amnion (amnionic fluid is what fetus floats in)
* necrotic tip- get it in pigs as well- at some point the growth is so extreme the tissue outgrows the blood supply– not a problem– it is sterile
(conceptus is on the opposite end of the nectrotic tip, really long in the picture)
** the tiny little heart supports the entire conceptus and foetal membranes

Who is this from? What are caruncles?

Cow
* caruncles - predetermined site of the placental attachment.
What are cotyledon? What is the placentome?



When does the cotyledonary attachment to caruncles of uterus initiated? What is prior? When is attachment well established?



What is the maternal and fetal circulation separated by in ruminants?


































































